The right to die, what a strange concept. I would have opposed it, in my youth, probably with a vengence. We put down far to many healthy animals in our society, not so many as other places, but enough for us, with our high American dreams. I like being an American too.....That isn't fashionable at the moment either. I can choose if I want a pet, and I can choose when for the sake of the animal I must let it go. That is a personal decision at this time and I am fighting to keep it that way. I don't like outsiders telling me how to run my life and me being the one living with the consequences. I didn't ask for a consultant for our animals here in Reno, and now that we have one I hate it. Going to the shelter and seeing the same poor animals for months on end, and then , gone, all gone. Ed Muzika in LA put it best, after seeing the same ones for month's on end; when you call to inquire, they get put down. Were they aggressive all along and we just stored them to be cruel , or were they driven crazy by kenneling? You make the call.
All the arguments used by no kill wackos are the ones I use to stop the madness, these are feeling sentinent beings. We have bred them to be companion animals, then we overshoot the mark and get a surplus. Breeding dogs isn't bad, overbreeding dogs is bad, turning our children into little screaming machines to get the latest fad puppy is bad, failing to have the maturity to say "no" is the worst. People who are working to lower the euthanasia rates are saints, the ones who scream life at any cost are wackos.. If a dog gets a 20 minute walk every day , and most don't in a shelter, that means 23 HOURS and 40 minutes are spent alone in a kennel, not touched, not held, not loved. Justify that.......
Growing up I heard a phrase that seems to have been banned today, pity really. Great phrase... " We can't afford it lovey " end of discussion. It was the kinder way. Sometimes I got a lenthy explanation but sometimes I got." When you're making the money dear, you can choose how to spend it" Or the absolute worst " I'd rather have you hate me as a child, and love me when you're grown " I remember screaming once.. "But what if I die first !!!" Then you will die with out the puppy.Mom always won.
What I found out when grown, Mama loved dogs and she grew up in a farm community where dogs were not always treated well. If the dog didn't herd, it got shot, if it got sick it got shot. My Mama made a decision to never have a pet she couldn't keep forever, till one of them died. I learned that from my Mama, don't get a pet till you can keep it.......
2 comments:
Since the newspaper article in Rancho Cucamonga came out stating they are not "no kill", you can see the shelter population going down quickly - they are euthanizing. I too have experienced calling on an animal that had been there for months only to be told it was euthanized FINALLY. But not before the kennel stress made it crazy and unadoptable. There is such a thing as cruel and unusual confinement that is covered by law (don't know about all areas having it) and if your area has that in their laws, see if you can use it against the shelter.
As a man who loves dogs and wants to be a part of the the answer, I am frustrated. When I talk to people in Sac and ask them about no kill, they go yeah, then when I say how long do you think a dog should be kept in a cage they say, " that's not good for any dog " Where do they think these dogs are going to be kept? In a kennel, why can't they think things through. Awhile back I went to a site called Indy.org from there things took off. The more I followed the issues of keeping living animals long term the more concerned I got. Man this is some unhealthy stuff. It is jail. I don't want to see healthy adoptable animals killed, but I don't want the locked up for life either. spay nueter is the answer, I believe we should also have a big fee for intact dogs. I don't want the right to an intact dog taken away, but an incentive to get a pet fixed would be a start.
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